The Beatles: Note By Note

By Note By Note SeriesMusic Music Commentary Music History

The Beatles: Note By Note episodes

February 14 What You're Doing - Lecture Series 82 (bonus)
In this Beatles Lecture Series episode, Kenyon argues that “What You’re Doing” is less a breakup complaint than a song about powerlessness, where the core question is not why it hurts, but what is even being done to you. You will start hearing how the lyric framing, the repeated phrasing, and even the band’s stylistic choices work together to make that confusion feel like the point.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
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40 min
February 07 I Don't Want To Spoil The Party - Episode 81 with Dr Terry Hamblin
In this Beatles podcast episode, we argue “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” only works because every Beatle leaves a crucial fingerprint. With special guest Dr. Terry Hamblin, we hear the song as a full-band fusion, not just a “John song.”

We cover:

- Songwriting origins on the 1964 North American tour and the country western frame
- The September 29, 1964 session and the nine takes vs nineteen takes confusion
- A debated vocal mystery and a Beatles first
- Musical fingerprints: flat seven movement, the middle eight, Ringo’s toms, and George’s solo
- Storytime on 1964 live TV performances, including Blackpool Night Out, Shindig, and Not Only...But Also

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 36 min
February 07 I Don't Want To Spoil The Party - Lecture Series 81 (bonus)
In this Beatles Lecture Series episode, you’ll hear “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” as an early moment where Lennon’s usual hurt-and-retaliate script gets quietly rewritten into something more adult, centered on the blunt turn of “I still love her.” Kenyon argues the music backs that up by dodging the neat, satisfying landing you expect and letting a more confident lead line reshape the mood, so the whole song feels like a story that refuses to be finished.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min
January 31 Every Little Thing - Episode 80 with TJ Byrnes
Every Little Thing is a Paul McCartney song that could fool you into thinking it is a John song, especially with John’s voice so forward in the verses. In this Beatles podcast episode of Note By Note, Peter, Kenyon, Josh, and guest TJ Byrnes break down the timpani punch, the Anthology 4 takes, and why this deep cut never quite plays by pop rules.

We cover:
- Recording sessions, the redo, and what Anthology 4 reveals in takes 6–7
- Timpani as a claimed Beatles first, the piano credit debate, and the AKG D19 C drum mic switch
- How it gets compared to What You’re Doing and the shift to arranged guitar solos
- 1964 UK tour storytime, including the mid-tour nine-hour EMI session

TJ Byrnes Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaqdTns-CVdVUMSk7xBhhmw

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 24 min
January 31 Every Little Thing - Lecture Series 80 (bonus)
In this Beatles Lecture Series episode, Kenyon argues that Every Little Thing never fully settles, like it keeps dodging the clean landing you expect from a Beatles love song. You come away hearing the whole track as intentionally unresolved, both in the melody and the chord changes.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
January 24 Honey Don't - Episode 79
On this Beatles podcast episode of The Beatles Note by Note, we start with Honey Don’t and end up in some surprisingly detailed territory. If you like songwriting context, studio specifics, and a few 1964 detours that explain why certain songs stuck, this one is for you.

We cover:
- Where Honey Don’t came from, and how the Beatles folded it into their live set before giving it to Ringo
- The last Beatles for Sale recording session and how quickly they put the track together
- A version-by-version compare: Carl Perkins, the Beatles, and John’s Plastic Ono Band jam
- Ringo’s 1964 tonsil surgery story and the strange press attention around it
- The “Ringo for President” campaign and what it said about youth culture at the time

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
58 min
January 17 Words Of Love - Episode 78 with Chris McGovern (The Gen-X Muse)
A Buddy Holly deep cut turns into a surprisingly big conversation in this Beatles podcast episode. With guest Chris McGovern, also known as the Gen X Muse, we dig into why “Words of Love” hits so differently on Beatles for Sale.

We cover:
- What Buddy Holly meant to the Beatles
- Who may or may not be singing
- The packing case Ringo plays
- The recording session details
- A retrospective of Brian Epstein's youth

The Gen-X Muse: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/chris-h-mcgovern

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 32 min
January 10 Eight Days A Week - Episode 77 with Josh Goodwin
You would not expect a psychoanalyst to pick Eight Days a Week as the song to talk about, but once he explains why, it clicks. In this Beatles podcast episode, we dig into why their newest hit at the time still feels like an intentional throwback, with little “odd” details that make it more interesting the longer you listen.

We cover:

- Who actually wrote it, and where the title “Eight Days a Week” may have come from
- The intro they could not get right, and why the released version fades in
- The musical move that makes the song feel slightly unresolved (in a good way)
- How and why it became a U.S. #1 single, plus the Beatles for Sale EP context
- A quick Help! pre-production storytime: “Eight Arms to Hold You” and how the film got its final shape

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 30 min
January 10 Eight Days A Week - Lecture Series 77 (bonus)
Eight Days a Week looks like a straightforward love lyric, but this lecture argues the real surprise is how many of the song’s rules quietly break at once, especially in the middle eight where the meter feels unbalanced, the harmony refuses to follow a clean pattern, and the time even drops out. You’ll also hear why the harmony moves works so well, and how the whole track can feel like a pivot point between early pop Beatles and what comes later.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
January 03 Kansas City - Episode 76 with Agustín Kafka
We recorded this one with our guest Augustín literally out at sea on a cruise ship, which somehow feels perfect for a high-energy cover like Kansas City. In this Beatles podcast episode, we talk Beatles landmarks, the messy songwriting history behind the tune, and why this performance hits the way it does on Beatles for Sale.

We cover:

- Guest interview with Augustin (Sound and Story), calling in from a cruise ship near Tenerife
- Beatles landmarks: 7 Cavendish Avenue, Abbey Road, 57 Green Street, and 57 Wimpole Street
- Song history: Lieber and Stoller, Little Richard’s “hey, hey, hey” section, and why credits get messy
- Recording on Oct 18, 1964: live take, piano overdub, handclaps, and the fade-out choice
- Storytime: the 1964 North American tour and the $150,000 Kansas City show

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 12 min

About The Beatles: Note By Note

From the publisher's feed

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:…