The Beatles: The Night that Changed America, CBS, Feb. 9. As likely every American within earsthot of a TV or radio knows, last weekend marked the 50th anniversary the Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
That original broadcast was seen by a then-record 73 million people. It revitalized rock'n'roll, created a beachhead for the British Invasion and influenced thousands of teenagers to pick up guitars and start their own bands. The whole pop revolution, of course, also influenced a generation's fashion, politics and even spiritual outlook. And, there's a good case to be made that it all started on "Sullivan." At least in America.
So, it's a historical event well worth noting, and one that was a lot more fun and pleasant than most. This special, premiered Feb. 9 and rebroadcast last night, was arranged by the folks who bring us the Grammy Awards and looks to be the American media's primary nod to the anniversary, which is odd. You'd think the network news programs or PBS might have done a more serious study of the Beatles' early impact on America and where it led, but the opportunity seems to have passed them by.
Instead, all we're left with is essentially a cheesy awards show with no awards: junky/glitzy sets, lots of audience shots, seemingly random selection and pairing of performers. The payoff for viewers were the performances by Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, solo and together, placed at the end of the broadcast.
Why L.L. Cool J as host? Because he's hosted the Grammys, I guess. But that's on the tip of the baffling iceberg. Most of the musical acts were seemingly selected based on current popularity and availability -- not for having anything to do with the Beatles. The results included a tepid rendition "All My Loving" by Maroon 5, the head-scratching (and big-hatted) duo of Brad Paisley and Pharrell Williams doing no justice to "Here Comes the Sun," a flimsy "Yesterday" by Katy Perry featuring a spare arrangement that laid bare the thinness of her vocal abilities, and a predictably over-the-top "Let it Be" by Alicia Keys and John Legend, substituting strained vocals for soul.
Somewhat better were ELO's Jeff Lynne (really, the only Beatlesque guest on the bill) and Ringo's brother-in-law Joe Wash performing "Something" and Walsh and new blues guy Gary Clark on "While My Guitar Gentely Weeps." Best of all was Stevie Wonder reprising his 1970 cover of "We Can Work it Out," still sounding fabulous. Lynne and Dave Grohl deserve a nod, too, for at least taking on a deep track and making it rock: "Hey, Bulldog," off the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album.
More fun than all this were the brief interview segments featuring Paul and Ringo interviewed by David Letterman as they toured the former Ed Sullivan Show theater, now host to Letterman's show. The crowd shots of Paul, Ringo and, especially, a nimble Yoko Ono, grooving along to the musical performances were entertaining, too.
After all this, the appearance of first Ringo, and then Paul, on stage was much welcome. More spry than ever at age 73, Ringo bounded on stage to perform a lively "Matchbox," followed by "Boys" and a nice, sing-along rendition of "Yellow Submarine." He was in modest voice, as ever, but really seemed into it. His warmth and sense of fun rubbed off on the audience, both in the theater and at home.
Macca's performance was more perfunctory. These days, he plays old Beatles tunes nearly as often as a Fabs tribute band. But he was in better voice than during his recent Grammys appearance. The tune selection was very routine: "Birthday" and "I Saw Her Standing There, " followed by "Sgt. Pepper" and "With a Little Help Friend My Friends" (which marked Ringo's reappearance on the stage, of course) followed by the obligatory "Hey Jude." It would've been nice if the duo had performed a John or George tune in recognition of their absent comrades, but no go. Still, it's fun to see even two Beatles on stage together, and Paul and Ringo seem to hold one another in genuine affection.
Did the Beatles need such a tribute? I don't think so. Their legacy stands. And the legacy of the first Sullivan appearance is better served by just watching the show again - all the Beatles "Sullivan" appearances are available, complete with period TV ads, on DVD. Also recommended is "The Beatles: First U.S. Visit" documentary, which includes the band's performances on the "Sullivan Show" and lengthy looks at all the surrounding mania.
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The Lego Movie. Michael Chabon wrote an essay a few years back about playing Legos with his kids (we always said "playing Legos," not "playing with Legos"), in which he despaired over how much today's Lego sets, and today's children, rely on directions in their building.
Why, when we were kids (both Chabon and I, apparently), we used to just build crap out of Legos. They came in a box without set instructions on what to do with them. The fun thing about the toy was that you didn't need directions - you just played. It wasn't like an Aurora model kit where, if you applied the wrong piece in the wrong spot, it would be Testored there forever. If you didn't like what you made, or were tired of it, you'd simply take the Legos apart. And you could build stuff that Aurora never dreamed of.
The brilliant minds behind "The Lego Movie" get this, and have made a film that wisely tells kids to ignore the directions and just play. It's a tribute to experimentation and creativity free of self-consciousness. It's only once we start growing up that we start worrying if we're doing the right thing, and what others might think.
The film's plot hinges on Emmett, a generic construction worker living in a generic Lego world, and his efforts to prevent his all Lego creation from becoming permanently Super-glued in place under the dictatorial rule of Lord Business. Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Morgan Freeman and many others are on hand to provide the voices, with Will Arnett perfect as the hilariously self-involved Batman.
The film's creators have the world's biggest tub of Legos to play with, not to mention a load of licensed characters to lampoon. I'm not sure how many hours of legal wrangling it all took, but it's a blast to see Batman interacting with Star Wars characters and Gandalf being mistaken for Dumbledore. Shaquille O'Neal provides the voice for his brick-sized doppelganger and Abraham Lincoln rockets around in a Jack Kirby-style "space chair."
It's the type of free-for-all, stream-of-consciousness storytelling kids engage in while playing: "I'm going to build a submarine," "I want to build a spaceship," "Check out this double-decker couch!" Amazing, and silly, things can happen when you get into that zone. And this film is a valuable reminder to both children and adults to relax, let loose, have fun, and see what you can come up with.
The folks at Lego who make the toys should be attention, too. Let's have more sets not based on pop culture characters, and not meant to built just one thing. Leave the creativity up to us. Just give us a tub with lots of pieces.
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