Weekend open thread: Winter Olympics, British invasion

What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? I’m excited about the Winter Olympics starting, despite NBC’s horrible coverage. (In some countries, television networks allow viewers to watch entire Olympic events from start to finish without commercial interruptions, and you can see all the competitors rather than the handful contending for medals.) The opening ceremony was spectacular, especially the holographic projections such as Peter the Great’s ship. I only wish NBC hadn’t repeatedly cut to a shot of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s smug face.

February 7 marked 50 years since the Beatles arrived in the U.S., and February 9 marks 50 years since their first live performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the highest-rated television program of all time. When I haven’t been watching the Olympics, I’ve enjoyed listening to the Des Moines oldies station KIOA, which is playing wall to wall Beatles songs all weekend long. After the jump I’ve posted a few links about the Beatles in America and the British invasion. This is an open thread.

John Covach provides “Five Common Myths About The Beatles’ U.S. Invasion, 50 Years Ago.”

John Petkovic discusses the Beatles’ enduring influence on musicians and first concert in Cleveland.

Paul Ingles recaps “The Beatles’ Yearlong Journey To ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’.”

The official Ed Sullivan website has much more background about the Beatles’ performances on tv.

The other giants of the British invasion, The Rolling Stones, were brilliantly marketed as the “bad boy” foils to the Beatles.

I enjoyed Courtney Smith’s review of a book looking at the Beatles and the Stones “Through the Lens of ’60s Politics.”

Tags: History, Music, Sports

About the Author(s)

desmoinesdem

  • BVP/Clovis

    I grow to admire George Harrison the more I read and learn about his life and work.  I really like the Traveling Wilburys too, one of those supergroups that I wish would have lasted longer.

    On another topic, has anyone found these out of state moderates that Sam Clovis said were trying to draw BVP into the U.S. Senate contest?  I suppose BVP could be more moderate on some spending issues in comparison to Clovis, but I’m not convinced that a DoD guy like Clovis is exactly a huge deficit hawk at the end of the day either.  

    • I don't know the answer

      but BVP entering the race would be a knife in Sam Clovis’ back for sure. It’s already bad enough for Clovis that he and Matt Whitaker are competing for the “principled conservative” niche. Add BVP to the mix and it becomes much more likely that Joni Ernst gets through in my opinion.

      • Ernst has two problems.

        One is that Mark Jacobs will buy the nomination with his well-funded campaign. The second is the possibility of no one getting 35% and a convention choosing someone from the far right.

Comments