No strangers to hyperbole, the NME says this is being the Holy Grail of lost Beatles recordings — but for once, they might be right. The just-leaked “Revolution No. 1 (Take 20)” seems to be a glorious bridge between the White Album‘s twin versions of “Revolution,” the fuzzy, straightforward “Revolution No. 1″ and the experimental sound collage of “Revolution No. 9.” It’s less noisy that “No. 1″ but longer, with some of “No. 9′”s found-sound Jackson Pollack approach — and a previously unseen window into the band’s creative process. The NME has more info, and the tune (for now) is below. Update: Further listens seem to reveal the main thrust of this — John’s vocals, George’s backing vocals, the main guitar track — to be identical to White Album’s “Revolution No. 1.” But the overdubs are different: Gone is the famous electric lead and the horn section that comes in during the first chorus and oom-pahs throughout the rest of the song. In their place, piano parts, disconnected vocal samples and guitar noise that arrive a few minutes and careen the song into oblivion. Curious. It sounds legitimate; there’s no way to know if this is an elaborate, remixed hoax until the Beatle camp speaks out, but it’s enthralling regardless.

The Beatles – “Revolution No. 1 (Take 20)”: mp3

Previously: John and Paul’s Last Session, 1974
Related: Elliott Smith Covers The Beatles

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Album versions not making the cut? Click below for more Bootlegs and rarities, or visit the Archive.

Best. Band. Ever. I love rock docs and will be first in line for this one. It’s out April 7.

All photos by David Greenwald

It was a night for new songs for The One AM Radio and they didn’t disappoint — known for their wistful folk, the band’s new stuff is a pop 180, lean and bouncy and more in line with Pinback or early Death Cab For Cutie than, say, Nick Drake. Frontman Hrishikesh Hirway told me after the set that they were about to begin recording and to look for an album in the fall; judging by this show, it’s not to early to start getting excited. More photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Anne Hathaway as a tortured youth in Rachel Getting Married

The Rawking Refuses To Stop! has always been primarily a music blog, but if you’ve followed us for a while, you know we like to get Deeper Into Movies. After the jump, my Oscar picks and thoughts on the year in film. Read the rest of this entry »

For his first movie in the director’s chair since Knocked Up, Apatow seems to be returning to the bittersweet humor that characterized the still-tremendous Freaks and Geeks for his story of a comedian (Adam Sandler in hopefully his first good role in forever) with a near-death experience. Apatow muses Seth Rogen and wife Leslie Mann co-star in the July 31-due film. Update: And Jason “Coconut Records” Schwartzman is writing the music as well as starring! This will be awesome.

P.S. Saw Seth at Whole Foods the other day — dude is trim! Apparently Apatow-bro Jonah Hill lives right by me, too. Guys, when can we go to Bar Lubitsch for crunchy Stellas?

P.P.S. I Love You, Man looks like the best movie ever and I hope these guys keep making three bromances a year forever.

Video: Funny People Trailer

Here We Go Magic‘s self-titled debut is a dank, surreal album, made with equal parts electronic wizardry and gloomy folk mysticism. There’s plenty of magic in songs such as “Fangella,” a song that evokes Simon & Garfunkel’s early-morning ruminations even as drum machines and synth programming dance above Luke Temple’s sunken singing. “Tunnelvision” is another highlight, his voice wafting along as a groove clomps and stomps beneath him. Read the rest of this entry »

St. Vincent‘s sophomore album, the sure-to-be-Shakespearean Actor, is due May 5. With Spoon and the National holding off till 2010, it’s pretty easily my most anticipated album of the year, so I’m glad we’re getting it just in time for my birthday (and Star Trek). 2009′s going to be good to us, folks. If somehow you missed the Arrested Development-tipping Marry Me, track it down ASAP — the best debut of ’07 and one of our top 10 albums of that year. After the jump, an Annie tune that unfortunately won’t take the stage for the album, live favorite “Bang Bang.”
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I wrote at length recently on The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s fantastic debut for Cokemachineglow, so rather than try to outdo myself, an excerpt:

Given enough time, and bands, every genre expands and stretches to the point of faceless variegation. That new musicians still describe themselves as alternative rock seems like a bad joke (or worse, further donations toward the Billy Corgan Continuing Relevance Fund)—and indie rock, for better or worse, is likely heading in the same direction. Indie pop, or twee, had such identity issues from the start: the U.K. scene codified by the NME’s 1986 C86 tape and labels such as Sarah Records in the ’80s was, sonically, a largely different animal than its early ’90s American cousin, which centered on noisier recordings and a less aloof approach. A decade or so later, extending the genre from the Field Mice to Belle & Sebastian to, well, Los Campesinos! makes for a knotty family tree. MP3s after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »