Untitled Beatles Podcast

T.J. Shanoff (1974) 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

It’s T.J.’s birthday! It’s T.J.’s birthday! And we would like to give him all of the cassettes!
The celebrated 4th member of the UBP (a. Tony, b. Casey, c. P3Z-Nutz) celebrates 46 years of Beatles love and weirdo-sniffer-collecting on the occasion of his 50th birthday! From meeting Paul McCartney to a crisis of what Apple ’92 closeout cassettes to buy in ’96, T.J. and Tony discuss some of the birthday boy’s favorite Beatles memories in a lifetime of loving the music and unmatched excellence of the Fab 4.
But a special birthday episode can’t derail the usual chicanery, and lots of rando preguntas are asked, including:
🐝 Is “My Girl” by The Turtles more or less of a soul classic than the one by The Temptations? And can a bee sting really f you up, like kill you? #MyGirl
🐚 Holy s**t, Peter Noone is still alive? Do you think Kathy Bartlett knows? Holy s**t, is Kathy Bartlett still alive?
🥁 Was the absolute highlight of Record Store Day 2024 Ringo’s “Crooked Boy” EP? Or are only the criminally insane interested in this item?
 
EPISODE LINKS
Check out Baby T.J. on WLS Channel 7 Chicago
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Now and Then (2023) Revisted

Now and then, do you ever want to hear, "Now And Then"? Or is your "Real Love" reserved for "Free As A Bird"?
Believe it or not: a) I'm walking on air, never thought I could feel so freeeee!, and II) "Now And Then" is already 5 months old. Wtf? Where has the time gone? And more importantly, where have all the cowboys gone? #ShawnColvin (sfx: buzzer) #PaulaCole (sfx: ding)
Now felt like the right time to revisit the "Last Beatles Song" (TM, until we get "Carnival Of Light"). Is it great? Rubbish? Somewhere in the middle, Patricia Heaton? And while we're on the subject-ish:
🦅 Generally, from a laundry perspective, does Tony prefer to kick 'em when they're up, or kick 'em when they're down?
🐂 (Angry Chicago guy:) How come they don't play the Dave Clark Five no more during timeouts at Bulls games? SAME GOES FOR THE BUCKINGHAMS, SON!
🍆 (Happy Chicago guy:)  I ain't religious but thank you, Lorde for Arne Harris in the summertime! 
 
EPISODE LINKS
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SPECIAL REPLAY: The Beatles' Second Album (1964)

The guys are on Spring Break this week, so we handed the reins over to P3Z-Nutz for another Untitled Beatles Podclassic!
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[Originally released February 5, 2021]
The gang continues its exploration of the early U.S. Capitol Records releases, this week covering the covers-heavy Beatles' Second Album.
Tony owns up to his early underestimation of this classic,
T.J. goes to bat for his official Fifth Beatle,
Bryan Adams brings his piano to your mom's porch,
And we think we've maybe stumbled upon the next great (grown-ups only) classic rock radio format, just in case this whole podcast thing doesn't pan out.
Apologies in advance to the City of Sacramento, and those who are sensitive to explicit language.LINKS:
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Seventh Beatle Bracket Part 2

It’s One Shining Moment at the Untitled Beatles Podcast, as we reach the thrilling (?) conclusion of Beatles March Madness, and crown the official, Apple-Endorsed (TBD) 7th Beatle! Who can it be, now? Colin Hay? Or, Colin Haaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy?
The A.M. white wine (angry Chicago guy: HOW COME WOKE SOMMELIERS DON’T LET YOU DRINK NO WHITE WINE NO MORE? AND HOW COME DEBRA LEFT ME IN ’81?) was flowing on this one, and as a result, many other questions are asked and answered, such as…
💩🗿 Is “Butt Rock” the best-ever K-Tel compilation?
🪕 If you put literally any two, generic male names together, is it possible they played in The Quarrymen?
🪘 Would longtime Ringo All-Starr Band drummer Sheila E. have significantly improved “She’s Leaving Home”; at least when compared to ol’ Harpie Bromberg? #HarpieBromberg
EPISODE LINKS
Download your bracket to play along at home
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Seventh Beatle Bracket

Glass Onions, baby! It's the UBP's third annual (note the TWO "n"'s and a "u", you grotty kids) Beatles March Madness! This week, we begin the Journey (#whenthelightsgodowninthecitay) to naming the official, Apple/Calderstone/Odeon/Ring'o Records 7th Beatle!
This year, for what feels like the very first time, the field is all musicians; and Tony, T.J., and our very own Tim Donaghy, Producer Casey, have some tough life decisions to make! Among them:
🎸 Is Beatlemania's Tom Teeley straight up more important to The Beatles than Linda, George, and original/best (of the) Beatles drummer Jimmie Nicol, combined?
🎸 Did Beatlemania's Tom Teeley invent the music video? Or just the now-wildly popular subset of music videos featuring extended tripping-on-bodega-fruit takes?
🎸 I just bet $20k on FanDuel that Beatlemania's Tom Teeley is gonna f'ing win this thing. I'll kill you bozos if I lose, do you f'ing hear me? And no, overly accessible legal gambling is definitely not f'ing up sports! Also, I'm sweating profusely. From the cocaine.
Life's too short! So you'd better back off, because it's Beatles March Madness! Stay tuned next for your late local news. Then, don't miss Martin Mull in the hilarious, new, can't miss, 1984 comedy, "Domestic Life". Only on (this is) CBS!
 
EPISODE LINKS
Download your bracket to play along at home
Check out the Beatlemania's Mitch Weissman on "Joanie Loves Chachie"
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SPECIAL REPLAY / NME vs. UBP: Ranking The Beatles’ Song Catalog (2022)

These Three Cool Cats (3.5 if you count P3Z-Nutz, and we do not) are hard at work prepping our March Madness SEVENTH BEATLE BRACKET — coming soon to a podcast feed near you.
But today, we crack open the vaults at EMI to bring you one of our Fab Faves from back in 2022.
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[Originally released January 22, 2022]
Rage Against The Machine sang, “Know Your Enemy”.  Perhaps they were really singing “Know Your NME”, in reference to the U.K. magazine’s recent ranking of *almost* every Beatles song?Turns out, TJiskel and TonEBert’s rankings differ wildly from NME’s, and each other’s! Good thing (#FineYoungCannibals) Producer Casey is there to set the record straight, as we reveal our own exhaustively exhausting rankings of the Beatles catalog, and also delve into other major Beatles news, like:
🚦Which 1982 hit-maker doubled as a traffic eye in the sky for WBBM/CBS-2?
🏀🏈 Is T.J’s Derrick Rose Beatles song Tony’s Walter Payton Beatles song?
🐣 How’s the Sgt. Pepper Chicken at official show sponsor, Kenny Rogers Roasters?
Now open (only) in the Malaysia area! Less fat, less salt, less calories: it’s the #Untitled #Beatles #Podcast!EPISODE LINKS
See T.J. and Tony's complete lists ranking every Beatles song
Share your rankings or yell at us for what we got wrong on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
Help us climb the ranks! Be sure to subscribe to the show, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Macca Snacks #1 / Paul McCartney's The 7" Singles Box (2022)

In the fall of 2022, acclaimed (fictional) documentarian and (fictional) podcast factchequer P3Z-Nutz planted a microphone in a flower pot embedded in the Shanoff residence to surreptitiously record T.J. and Tony as they unboxed and auditioned select cuts from the then-newly-released McCartney 7" Singles Box Set. (Don't worry -- our AI lawyers assure us it's totally legal.)
While we were unable to obtain Peter Jackson's proprietary AI sound-cleaning technology, we were able to get access to a turntable once used to play Pete Best's "Best of the Beatles", and frankly, the sonic results are astounding.
Please enjoy the first of what we hope will be like 80 occasionally recurring episodes—part of a complete, balanced breakfast—that we're calling MACCA SNACKS.
 
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BONUS! Maxwell's Silver Hammer from McCartney: A Life in Lyrics

The UBP is honored to partner once again with the good folks at Pushkin, as we proudly present Season 2, Episode 3 of McCartney: A Life In Lyrics.
 
This week, T.J., Producer Casey, and a rather talkative, dialed-in, obviously present Tony, listen in and discuss Macca and Paul Muldoon's deep-dish of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". Bang Bang! On the door, baby!
 
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McCartney: A Life in Lyrics | Maxwell's Silver Hammer
One day in the car, Paul McCartney heard a BBC production of the absurdist play “Ubu Cocu” by French writer Alfred Jarry.  Taken by the rebelliousness of the radio play, McCartney wrote a sweet-sounding tune about a murderous medical student that seemingly lives in the same universe as Ubu: “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”
“McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” is a co-production between iHeart Media, MPL and Pushkin Industries.
The series was produced by Pejk Malinovski and Sara McCrea; written by Sara McCrea; edited by Dan O’Donnell and Sophie Crane; mastered by Jason Gambrell with assistance from Jake Gorski and sound design by Pejk Malinovski. The series is executive produced by Leital Molad, Justin Richmond, Lee Eastman and Scott Rodger.
Thanks to Lee Eastman, Richard Ewbank, Scott Rodger, Aoife Corbett and Steve Ithell.
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McCartney: A Life in Lyrics offers listeners the opportunity to sit in on conversations between Paul McCartney and poet Paul Muldoon dissecting the people, experiences, and art that inspired McCartney’s songwriting. These conversations were held during the past several years as the two collaborated on the best selling book, “The Lyrics: 1965 to Present.” Over two seasons and 24 episodes of McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, you’ll hear a combination master class, memoir, and improvised journey with one of the most beloved figures in popular music. Each episode focuses on one song from McCartney’s iconic catalog – spanning early Beatles through his solo work.
“McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” is a co-production between iHeart Media, MPL and Pushkin Industries.

The Birth of the Beatles (1979) Part 2

The Untitled Beatles Podcast is going to the top! What top? (Spoilers) THE TOP!
...The top of the podcast charts, bay-beeeee! Because it's time to review and dish deep 1979's lost-in-the-sands-of-time TV docudrama, "Birth Of The Beatles".
What makes this ridiculous, dated, Pete Best-biased movie such a fun watch? Is it gangster John? The music by Rain? The commercials by Mitsubishi? And speaking of really important Beatle stuff:
🌸🚊 Is the real tragedy of Stu Sutcliffe that he never lived to ride the CTA's Pink Line?
🧑‍🦰 Is the best Hall & Oates fantasy parody about the actor who played Cousin Oliver on the final season of The Brady Bunch, "Your Kiss Is On My Rist"?
🛳️ In Chicago improv parlance, is John to the Annoyance what Paul is to The Second City? (Angry Chicago Guy, from the other side of the bar, with Malort-stained eyes:) "And how come Tina Pohler don't accept my friend request on MySpace dont she remember me from the Improv Olympics alley? She too good for me now?"
 
EPISODE LINKS
Watch Birth of the Beatles on YouTube
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"The Birth of the Beatles" (1979)

1979. It was the Pete best of times, it was the Pete worst of times. In the 9 long years since the break up, there'd yet to be a major bio-pic about the Fabs, not counting than the rather obviously "Magical Mystery Tour"-influenced, "Jaws".
Enter Dick Clark, long before he was regenerated into Ryan Seacrest. Dick, with a little help from Pete Best, and a director who'd later work with Jabba The Hutt, created "Birth Of The Beatles"; basically the "Tune In" of its time. (Related: please don't sue us, Mr. Lewishon!)
The film aired repeatedly on American television for many years. T.J. grew up with it, via a VHS tape from ABC's Summer, 1980 airing. Tony discovered a different edit altogether, one which played in U.K. cinemas. Which begs the question: is this movie any bloody good?? We just might answer that, and also:
🥁 What's the best technical drumming in a film: the last scene of "Whiplash", or Pete Best's Cavern solo in "Birth Of The Beatles"?
💰 Which is the more controversial TV performance: Sinead O'Connor on SNL, or Eddie Money on "Fridays"?
🍻 (Angry Chicago Guy:) How come Channel 9 don't play "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" weekdays at 2 no more? And how come woke WGN let Tom Skilling retire when he's all I got left?
The drama, the humor, the excitement of (the great Wilco album) "Being There"; it's the #Untitled #Beatles #Podcast.
 
EPISODE LINKS
Watch Birth of the Beatles on YouTube
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Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon.
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Drop us a review on Apple Podcasts!