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PODCAST

The Beatles: Note By Note

Note By Note Series

A Beatles podcast that goes song-by-song through every Beatles release in chronological order. We focus on the music itself, breaking down what you’re hearing and why it works.Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeriesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

music music commentary

All Episodes

1:43:45

Mr Moonlight - Episode 75 with Nancy Howie (Fathom)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/12/27

Most people skip Mr Moonlight on Beatles For Sale, so on this Beatles podcast we put it on trial. Kenyon and Peter are joined by Nancy to settle it: is Mr Moonlight secretly great, or truly cursed?We cover:- Why Mr Moonlight is the most skipped track on Beatles For Sale- The song’s path back to Roy Lee Johnson and Dr Feelgood and the Interns- Version comparison: Star Club performance vs the Hollies version- Recording comparison: Anthology take with tremolo guitar vs the official release with Paul’s

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1:14:20

I'll Follow The Sun - Episode 74 with Alexei Casselle

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/12/20

What happens when an underground Twin Cities hip hop veteran picks the softest song on Beatles for Sale as his favorite track on the album?On this episode we bring in our old friend Alexei, known as Crescent Moon from Kill the Vultures and Mixed Blood Majority, to talk about why I’ll Follow the Sun hits him so hard. We get into his path from early Minneapolis hip hop crews to folk duos busking Dylan style, and how that journey opened the door to the Beatles.We cover:- The wild origin of the song,

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29:27

I'll Follow The Sun - Lecture Series 74 (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/12/20

What if Paul’s gentle breakup song is secretly in the wrong key?In this lecture Kenyon takes I’ll Follow The Sun apart piece by piece, starting with the lyrics and their roots in an earlier Paul song, I’ll Be On My Way. We look at rain and sun as more than mood words. Rain can stand in for Liverpool and Britain, the sun for a brighter, maybe more exotic future, and the relationship sits right in the middle of that tension.Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.comPatreon:

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1:11:17

Rock And Roll Music - Episode 73

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/12/13

In this episode of our Beatles podcast, we invite music critic and musician Giggens into the room to help us pick apart why this cover still hits like a shot of adrenaline. Let's take Rock and Roll Music and make it Beatles. We kick off with our usual on-mic chaos, then settle into the fun stuff: how we frame a song, what we listen for, and why John’s full-throttle vocal changes the game. Along the way we test the line between rock and roll and rock, talk pacing and sequencing on Beatles For Sale,

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1:26:35

Baby's In Black - Episode 72

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/12/06

This week on our Beatles podcast, we cover “Baby’s in Black”, not just a normal track on Beatles for Sale. It’s a doorway. Peter and Kenyon step through it and bring listeners along, mixing storytime with close listening and a lot of spirited back-and-forth. They trace a line from early Hamburg nights and an art-school circle to a song that feels old and new at the same time, then dig into why that mood fits this moment in the album. You’ll hear them puzzle out who carries the tune when two voices

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29:37

Baby's In Black - Lecture Series 72 (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/12/06

In this session on “Baby’s in Black,” Kenyon treats the song as both language and architecture. The lesson begins with the title and first line, tracing how color words shape meaning and mood, then tests competing readings of grief, longing, and the implied triangle in the lyric. From there, we map the form into three functional sections, compare the blended vocal lines to ask where the “main” melody actually lives, and situate the waltz-like feel within compound meter. Harmony is handled as design

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1:14:44

I'm A Loser - Episode 71 with Abigail Devoe

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/29

This week on our Beatles podcast, we dive into “I’m a Loser” with Kenyon, Peter, and special guest Abby Devoe. The trio explores how the song feels and what it does. They frame “I’m a Loser” as a bold statement in peak Beatlemania, talk about how vulnerability reads as power, and trace the way the track announces a new voice in John’s writing. Abby brings her fashion and culture lens, then jumps into a playful “Beatles à la mode” tour of early looks, tailoring, and boots, connecting style to sound

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30:22

I'm A Loser - Lecture Series 71 (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/29

What happens when a Beatles song stares straight at the word “loser”? In this lecture, Kenyon takes the title seriously and follows the lyric to ask whether Lennon means simple heartbreak or a jab at his own image. Kenyon reads the verses closely, noting the high-school-diary metaphors, the mask that slips, and that striking question, “Is it for her or myself that I cry?” He highlights the sudden drop to a surprisingly low note as a storytelling move, then looks at the chorus as a plain confession

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1:21:07

No Reply - Episode 70 with Skylar Moody

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/22

This week on our Beatles podcast, we bring on Skylar Moody and use “No Reply” to tell a bigger story. First, we map how new fans discover the band today, then tap Skylar’s front-row view of online fandom, the good, the bad, and the very human. We follow the song’s path from Tahiti spark to a confused “demo” on Anthology, weigh a theory about who kept time on that tape, and zoom into the finished track’s arrangement choices, overdubs, and piano accents. We place the opener on Beatles for Sale in

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40:53

No Reply - Lecture Series 70 (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/22

Kenyon treats “No Reply” like a short film. He builds the scene from the lyric clues and follows how silence drives the story. He connects this song to Lennon’s earlier promises of easy connection, then shows how that promise collapses into absence here. He lingers on charged pivots like “I saw the light” and “I nearly died,” and questions whether the “another man” twist adds meaning or just color.On craft, Kenyon shows how the opening feels like it starts midair, how the phrasing sets up a question

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1:11:05

EP069 - She's A Woman

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/15

We start the episode hilariously out of sync, then use “She’s a Woman” to find our groove again. Instead of reciting facts, we rebuild the track from the ground up: why the bass takes the driver’s seat, how those sharp guitar stabs act like percussion, and why the low piano line changes the feel. We zoom in on the tiny tag we both obsess over and show how the sudden shift there creates the exact jolt that keeps you replaying it. Then we step through how the session came together and what flipped a

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32:38

LS069 - She's A Woman - Lecture Series (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/15

In this Lecture Series deep dive, we pull “She’s a Woman” apart to find the craft hiding in plain sight. First, we scan the lyrics for structure, cadence, and sly wordplay, from the racy “turn me on” placement to unexpected internal rhymes and that clever enjambment that resolves a line one phrase later. Then we pivot to arrangement under a microscope: John’s relentless stabs on two and four, the rolling bass as the backbone, piano echoes of the vocal, and a stripped setup that spotlights the

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1:49:49

EP068 - I Feel Fine - ft. Jon Blackstone

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/08

This week we dive deep into one of the most pivotal records in early Beatles history, I Feel Fine. Kenyon and Peter, joined by musician Jon Blackstone, uncover the story behind the first intentional use of feedback in recorded music, tracing how a studio “mistake” became a defining Beatles innovation. The trio reconstruct the song’s evolution take by take, exploring how a simple riff turned into a landmark single and how Ringo’s rhythmic breakthrough helped shape its sound. Along the way, John

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31:10

LS068 - I Feel Fine - Lecture Series (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/08

In this lecture, Kenyon digs into “I Feel Fine” not as a chart-topping single, but as a turning point in Lennon’s songwriting and the band’s evolution in the studio. We unpack the way John’s neutral “I feel fine” lyric carries more weight than it first appears, how the melody crosses bar lines in subtle, surprising ways, and how the Beatles start to experiment with perspective in their storytelling. You’ll also hear how the band’s Latin-influenced drum pattern and riff-based arrangement reveal a

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1:34:38

EP067 - The Beatles' Story ft. Dr. Richard Driver

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/11/01

This episode steps outside the usual track-by-track format to explore The Beatles’ Story, Capitol Records’ 1964 double-LP “documentary” about the band. With historian Dr. Richard Driver, we look at how this release tried to define the Beatles for the American audience—mixing interviews, narration, and orchestral renditions with facts that were sometimes inaccurate. We trace the record’s place alongside other interview albums of the era, and how it fit into Capitol’s rush to issue product when a

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59:50

EP066 - I Don't Want To See You Again

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/10/25

Peter and Gordon are back, and not just on the charts. This episode dives into “I Don’t Want to See You Again,” the third McCartney-penned single given to the duo. While it barely made a dent in the UK, it charted at #16 in the US and even got them a spot on Ed Sullivan. But how does the song hold up?Kenyon and Peter talk about how the song plays with breakup themes we usually hear from Lennon and why it may have confused people into thinking John wrote it. We also break down the strange classical

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27:25

EP066 - I Don't Want To See You Again - Lecture...

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/10/25

In this lecture we take a closer look at I Don’t Want to See You Again, a Paul McCartney composition performed by Peter and Gordon. Unlike Paul’s more optimistic breakup songs, this one flips the perspective. He’s not the one leaving, but the one being left behind. The lyrics trace that experience with a mix of disbelief, sorrow, and reflection, shifting from the immediate pain of rejection to the memory of hearing those words echoed long after.Musically, the song reveals some unusual choices. Its

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1:02:37

EP065 - It's For You

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/10/18

We step out of A Hard Day’s Night and into the Beatles’ songwriter-for-hire mode with “It’s for You,” written for Cilla Black. We trace why Cilla wasn’t a favor but a first-call vocalist in the NEMS orbit, how George Martin chose material for her, and why Paul aimed a new song at her after “Anyone Who Had a Heart.” We cover the 1964 session with Paul at the piano, John in the room offering ideas, and Cilla shaping the take. You’ll hear how the waltz feel, key moves, and that G vs E minor tug sit

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37:36

LS065 - It's For You - Lecture Series (bonus)

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/10/18

Kenyon examines “It’s For You,” McCartney’s song tailored for Cilla Black’s cabaret lane. The talk explores how Paul steps into lounge tradition while keeping a youthful, pop viewpoint. The lyric voice dreams of a one-true-love future, creating a gentle tension between sophisticated stage polish and teenage fantasy. The focus lands on the middle eight: the recurring “they said love was a lie” idea, the witty internal rhymes, and the quick pivots in cadence. He shows how the refrain’s promise, “It’s

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47:23

EP064 - From A Window

The Beatles: Note By Note ·

2025/10/11

What happens when a Beatles song isn’t recorded by the Beatles? In this episode, Peter and Kenyon dive into From a Window, written by Paul McCartney and handed off to Billy J. Kramer. The duo plays musical detective, hunting for Beatles fingerprints in the arrangement, the melody, even the title itself. Along the way, they unpack Paul’s writing habits during the Asher era, the studio session that brought John and Paul into the room with Billy, and the performance quirks that make this recording feel

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131 results

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