Woody Allen & Paul McCartney

[August1991]

One born in 1935, the other in 1942. Both, by luck, before a huge post war baby-boom. Both still alive.

Young, both men had older, supportive women.

Both young, quickly understood I reckon that they had a natural talent:

-Allen could write jokes

-Paul could create melodies

By all accounts, both are hard working guys. By nature, they show up - every day.

====

I recently watched "What's Up **** Cat?"  -What a disaster.

Imagine if McCartney had never met Lennon. Or George Martin.

[CouchPotato]

Woody Allen is also a capable musician. He had his own dixieland band.

He plays clarinet. There are clarinets in "When I'm Sixty-Four" which was a McCartney Beatles tune.

The Beatles had a manager named Brian Epstein. Woody Allen seems like he would have gotten on well with Jeffrey Epstein.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2025 by CouchPotato

[Michael Hardner]

4 hours ago, August1991 said:

 

I recently watched "What's Up **** Cat?"  -What a disaster.

 

Allen was best at jokey films.

 

Underrated: Broadway Danny Rose, Sleeper 

Overrated: Manhattan, Interiors 

[August1991]

On 9/29/2025 at 6:43 AM, Michael Hardner said:

Allen was best at jokey films.

 

Underrated: Broadway Danny Rose, Sleeper 

Overrated: Manhattan, Interiors 

Compare:

a) What's Up **** Cat?

b) Take The Money & Run

======

He wrote both. He had the control of the second.

[August1991]

McCartney first wrote "Yesterday" as "Scrambled Eggs" until Lennon changed the lyrics.

And Brickman told Allen to remove the jokes on the script of Annie Hall. 

[Michael Hardner]

9 hours ago, August1991 said:

Compare:

a) What's Up **** Cat?

b) Take The Money & Run

======

He wrote both. He had the control of the second.

I have only seen the latter, and probably about 50 years ago. But I do remember it being hilarious.

[herbie]

18 hours ago, August1991 said:

What's Up **** Cat?

Time to ditch the stupid word censor

[SpankyMcFarland]

On 9/29/2025 at 4:00 AM, August1991 said:

Imagine if McCartney had never met Lennon. Or George Martin.

He’d still have made a fortune - look what he did after Lennon - but it wouldn’t have had the lasting effect their collaboration produced. Lennon gave him a serious artistic vehicle to place his melodies in and Martin added to it. What he needed with Wings was a lyricist or three and maybe a musical partner to keep all that sunny, sentimental guff in check. 

Edited October 4, 2025 by SpankyMcFarland

[August1991]

On 10/4/2025 at 12:16 AM, SpankyMcFarland said:

He’d still have made a fortune - look what he did after Lennon - but it wouldn’t have had the lasting effect their collaboration produced. Lennon gave him a serious artistic vehicle to place his melodies in and Martin added to it. What he needed with Wings was a lyricist or three and maybe a musical partner to keep all that sunny, sentimental guff in check. 

Maybe.

Woody Allen did original stuff after the 1970s.

[August1991]

On 10/1/2025 at 6:26 AM, Michael Hardner said:

I have only seen the latter, and probably about 50 years ago. But I do remember it being hilarious.

Search "What's Up **** Cat" for Woody Allen's involvement, opinion.

"Take the Money and Run", true talent on display.

====

Kubrick had a similar view of movies. 

[Michael Hardner]

6 hours ago, August1991 said:

Search "What's Up **** Cat" for Woody Allen's involvement, opinion.

"Take the Money and Run", true talent on display.

====

Kubrick had a similar view of movies. 

In terms of comedy, Allen had the greatest jokes.

Others were brilliant: Bruce, Pryor, Carlin...

But Allen's art was the classic joke.  His movies were great until the jokes went away... Last one I remember liking was Deconstructing Harry.

[Chrissy1979]

On 9/30/2025 at 7:43 PM, August1991 said:

McCartney first wrote "Yesterday" as "Scrambled Eggs" until Lennon changed the lyrics.

And Brickman told Allen to remove the jokes on the script of Annie Hall. 

John Lennon didn't have anything to do with Yesterday. Paul had working lyrics and then wrote real ones.

[August1991]

On 10/13/2025 at 11:15 AM, Chrissy1979 said:

John Lennon didn't have anything to do with Yesterday. Paul had working lyrics and then wrote real ones.

Disagree.

Lennon advised McCartney to substitute fake words until the good lyrics arrived.

====

Imagine if Mozart had met Pushkin.

[Chrissy1979]

16 hours ago, August1991 said:

Disagree.

Lennon advised McCartney to substitute fake words until the good lyrics arrived.

====

Imagine if Mozart had met Pushkin.

He always did that. In the movie “Get Back” when George was struggling with the lyrics to “Something ”, he told him to put in “avocado” in the spot where “no other lover” wound up. It doesn’t mean he wrote the lyrics.

imagine if Gershwin had met Cobain.

[SpankyMcFarland]

What’s clear to me is that Lennon set a tone for McCartney to work within where self-indulgent, lovey-dovey sentimentality and nonsensical whimsy had to be severely pruned. You can what happened in the absence of that when Macca had Linda as an editor instead. Lennon was an undisciplined person in many ways but he had a vision for the Beatles that served them well. By contrast, McCartney remained a highly industrious songwriter who lacked that steely core. Instead he made a fortune with Wings which was his main aim after the financial missteps of the Beatles years. 

[August1991]

On 10/23/2025 at 6:48 PM, Chrissy1979 said:

He always did that. In the movie “Get Back” when George was struggling with the lyrics to “Something ”, he told him to put in “avocado” in the spot where “no other lover” wound up. It doesn’t mean he wrote the lyrics.

imagine if Gershwin had met Cobain., 

Chrissy,

You make my point. When struggling, put in a marker. (BTW, AI can't do that.)

McCartney like Bacharach could imagine melodies. Mozart could imagine such melodies across many instruments.

George Martin was the fifth beatle.

Lennon could write words, like Pushkin.

======

Cobain? And which Gershwin?

[SpankyMcFarland]

I would never have linked or compared these two people. There you are. 

[SpankyMcFarland]

I remember a journalist following up a story about McCartney that seemed credible at first until it was alleged that Paul had bought somebody a pint. Then he knew it wasn’t true. Unlike Lennon, McCartney was always the businessman, obsessed with making money and very careful about spending it. One reason he fell out with Brian Epstein was because of all the money Epstein failed to make on merchandising in the United States. 

[SpankyMcFarland]

I don’t mean to sound negative about Paul McCartney. His melodies have defined my life. What a blessing that two such incredibly talented artists should live beside each other, meet and work together for so long. It’s the combination, the light and dark, sweet and sour, that made the Beatles so special. Ringo and George and the other George were brilliant too. Like Seinfeld or The Sopranos, the stars aligned and everything went right. 

Edited October 31, 2025 by SpankyMcFarland

[SpankyMcFarland]

In the interests of balance, I enclose a link to a much more enthusiastic assessment of Wings:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/05/wings-story-band-on-the-run-paul-mccartney-book-review

Which is wrong, obviously. 
 

 

[Michael Hardner]

9 hours ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

In the interests of balance, I enclose a link to a much more enthusiastic assessment of Wings:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/05/wings-story-band-on-the-run-paul-mccartney-book-review

Which is wrong, obviously. 
 

 

I've been relistening to Venus and Mars lately.  Classic record end to end.

 

Didn't think that when it came out but there you are...

[August1991]

On 10/31/2025 at 1:44 AM, SpankyMcFarland said:

I would never have linked or compared these two people. There you are. 

McCartney (b. 1940) and Woody Allen (b. 1935).

Both were born in a dearth of children - just before a baby boom.